#SimplePleasures interview with SEBASTIÀ RAVENTÓS

Because life's full of little moments we should celebrate, Freixenet presents “Simple pleasures”, a series of interviews with leading figures not only from the world of wine but also from gastronomy, sport, medicine, communication…People who may seem very different but who share a passion for a job well done and a desire to enjoy and celebrate the simple pleasures in life.

SEBASTIÀ RAVENTÓS

August 2 saw the beginning of one of the year’s most special times at Freixenet: the grape harvest. A year when it has started earlier than ever. Sebastià Raventós, who oversees new vineyard projects, told us about this special situation and shared with us his passion for his work in this interview.

They say that there has been a record harvest this year.

A historic record, because the harvest has never started so early, in the middle of August.

And you undoubtedly know the reason...

It has been a long time now and in this year of 2017 the climatic conditions have been more extreme.

So, can we say that this year the harvest is a special one?

We can say that it’s an early, healthy and short harvest,

Early because the heat and lack of water have hastened the ripening of the grapes.

Healthy because the grapes are reaching the pressing plants in an impeccable state of health and with an alcohol content suitable for all the varieties.

And short because probably each and every one of the varieties is yielding less quantity than last year, something which will be proven as their harvests are completed. What we do already know is that it’s of high quality.

Less quantity, but greater quality

Yes, this year there are less grapes and they have ripened very quickly, just by looking at them I know we’re going to make a product of high quality.

It must have been more difficult to decide when to harvest this year, mustn’t it?

Look, the nice thing about this job is that no two years are the same. You work the vineyards, you watch how the soil is behaving, you control the pruning of all the varieties and in the end, it’s the grapes which decide. We watch every grape very carefully, we open it up, we look at the flesh, its state of ripening, the taste depending on how much sun it’s getting. There has to be a balance so that we can know exactly when we’re going to harvest

But in years like this, winegrowers must have more doubts about the harvest

We work with over 1,000 winegrowers and we talk to all of them. My job is to give them advice on everything they need and put over a bit of savoir-faire aimed at obtaining the best grapes and having a practically ecological producer.

Quite a responsibility....

The important thing is to know them all well, communicate your work and believe in what you do.